SEANAD REPORT:IF THE preferred bidder selected for the Thornton Hall prison project did not meet the necessary requirements, there were other options that could be pursued, Minister of State for Justice Conor Lenihan told the House.
Mr Lenihan was speaking on a motion to pave the way for the construction of the major prison complex in North Dublin.
Fine Gael Justice spokesman Eugene Regan said the preferred bidder was the McNamara Group, which had withdrawn from a number of public-private partnership projects with Dublin City Council. “I just wonder if there is a Plan B? The Minister has stated that if it does not go ahead with this developer, other options can be pursued.
“I wonder what are those other options.”
Ivana Bacik (Ind) said she was concerned about the size of the proposed jail. Mr Lenihan had spoken of 1,400 prisoners, but the motion up to 2,200. Mr Lenihan said the extra capacity could be obtained by dividing the planned over-sized cells.
Dan Boyle (GP), deputy government leader in the House, said the fact the tendering process had delivered a company that was under a critical eye raised questions about the process and the contracting that followed from it.